Xelassian Army
The Xelassian Army makes up the ground forces of the Republic of Xelass. Remit The Xelassian Army is to "prevent hostile invasion of Xelassian soil, supporting national policies, and preserving peace and security for Xelassian citizens and the Republic itself." Organisation The largest of the Xelassian armed forces by far, the Army has five million soldiers and ten million support personnel (technicians, mechanics, administrative staff, and all the other individuals which allow the soldiery to function optimally), of which around half are on reserve at any one time while Aiston is in peacetime. The Army is divided into smaller units for co-ordination and administration. The largest subunits are the five Army Groups of five million soldiers each (active or reserved in cycles). The Army Groups are in turn divided into three of four Corps. Corps consist of two Divisions, and Divisions consist of twelve or more Battalions. The composition of a Battalion is at the discretion of the Division commander. Ranks The Commander-in-Chief of the Xelassian Army is currently Varrn Hgel, who is given the rank of Field Marshal. Below the Field Marshal are the Generals. These are subdivided into General (4-star), Lieutenant General, Major General, and Brigadier General. A 4-star general is at the head of each Army Group, a Lieutenant General at the head of each Corps, and Major General at the head of a Division, and a Brigadier General for each Battalion. The field officers are, in order of decreasing rank, Colonel, 2nd Colonel, Captain, 2nd Captain, Lieutenant, and 2nd Lieutenant. The NCOs are, in order of decreasing rank, Sergeant, 2nd Sergeant, Corporal, and 2nd Corporal. Privates are divided into Privates First Class and Privates. Training Individuals seeking to join the Army must go through a two-year training course under the supervision of drill sergeants. The success rate is 98.7%. Specialists may then have to do one to four years of specialist training before they are made active personnel. While on reserve, soldiers are expected to attend yearly five-day training refreshers. Equipment Equipment for the Xelassian Army is bought from ten different arms companies to increase competition and minimise expenditure. Many have contracts to exclusively supply the Xelassian Army. Weapons Xelassian individual weapons are of many kinds. The primary sidearm of the XA is the PH5 8mm semi-automatic pistol. This is a 890g weapon unloaded, 212mm long and chambered for 8x17mm rounds. The muzzle velocity is 360 m/s and it has an effective range of about 45m using its iron sights. The magazines are detachable box-type with 18 rounds. The most common weapon is the MR17 Assault Rifle. This is a selective-fire 6.55mm-chambered weapon with a dry weight of 3.05 kg and an overall length of 90 cm. It has gas-operated rotating bolt action and fires 6.55x40mm rounds in two modes- semi-automatic and three-round burst. An automatic selection was removed shortly after production began. The rate of fire for these two is 30 and 90 rounds per minute respectively, with a muzzle velocity of 1010 m/s. It has detachable box magazines of 45 rounds. A more compact form is the MR23 Carbine, which masses 2.7 kg empty and is 71 cm long. It fires the same rounds, but with a muzzle velocity of only 800 m/s, and with only the semi-automatic option. Rate of fire is around 50 rounds per minute. It uses detachable box magazines containing 30 rounds. The MG92 is the squad automatic weapon of the XA. It is designed to provide suppressing fire at fireteam levels, massing 8.2 kg dry and at 1.1m long. Firing the same round as the MR17, it can fire up to 1000 rounds a minute from a linked-belt feed with a muzzle velocity of 890 m/s. For door-breaching and close-quarters combat, the MM13 shotgun is used. 8-gauge, with several ammunition types including a slug, 000, 00 and 0 buckshot, and flechette rounds, it masses around 2.7 kg and is around 90 cm long. It is pump-action and has an internal tube magazine containing 4 to 10 rounds. Another close-quarters, urban-warfare weapon is the MO3, a sub-machine gun. Firing the same rounds as the PH5, the MO3 is a 3.5 kg weapon, 56 cm long with stock collapsed, that has a muzzle velocity of 310 m/s and detachable box magazines of 40 rounds, with a rate of fire up to 400 rounds per minute. Snipers are equipped with the MS7 sniper rifle. It is semi-automatic, 5.2 kg empty and 1.2m long. It fires the 7.55x49mm round with a muzzle velocity of 760 m/s, and a rate of fire of 25rpm. It has an effective range of around 1000m, though kills at greater distances have been confirmed. Its magazine is a 12-round detachable box, and they are issued with telescopic sights as standard. Soldiers are issued with grenades such as the G74 fragmentation and G76 white phosphorus. These can be fired from the underslung MH14 grenade launcher, which can be attached to the MR17 or the MR23. Armour Infantry armour is mainly kevlar with ceramic ballistic plates and a shear-thickening fluid between two sheets under the kevlar. Steel helmets for shrapnel protection are issued. Soldiers which will be exposed to NBC conditions or weaponry will be administered with the TActical NBC Armour System, or TANAS, which is related to the Xelassian Space Fleet's combat spacesuits. Vehicles The XA has many kinds of vehicle for troop movement and support. The V20 APC is the standard infantry transport, ambulance, and cargo vehicle, at 10 tonnes and 4.6m long, with armoured tracks and a top road speed of 40 km/h. It uses a hydrogen-fuel engine and has an operational range of over 500 miles. Commonly, they are equipped with a HMG3 on the vehicle roof. They can carry 6 troopers in the rear as well as one driver, one communications officer, and one commander. The main battle tank of the XA is the VT37, which is a 70-tonne tank with a hull length of 9.1m. It has a 1700 hp hydrogen-fuel engine and can reach road speeds of 60 km/h, though lower off-road. Its main armament is a 130mm rifled cannon with various types of shell, but it also has two sponson-mounted HMG3s and a turret-mounted HMG3. Anti-air missile pods are accompanied by smoke launchers, attached to the rear of the turret. For armour, it has reactive armour modules over steel strike plates and a kevlar mesh, up to 68 cm thick on the hull. 3 crew can fit in- a commander/gunner, a driver, and a gunner. Artillery There are a few artillery systems in the XA. They include the HA3, the RML14, and the AA51. The HA3 is a self-propelled howitzer with a 150mm calibre. The howitzer weighs 25 tonnes and is 9m long, with a 700 hp hydrogen-fuel engine. It has a secondary HMG3. It can reach 63 km/h on-road. The RML14 is a rapid-fire missile launch system. It is armoured and self-propelled, and the rockets are carried on a traversable, rotatable turret, with more stored in a magazine at the back of the vehicle. The RML14 is 19 tonnes in weight and is a tracked vehicle that can reach 80 km/h on-road. It launches various solid-fuel rockets, some of which are heat-seeking. The AA51 is a SAM system. It launches guided missiles using either heat-seeking or active radar systems to take down aircraft. The missiles have submunitions with various kinds of fuse. The missiles can reach mach 4 and have an effective range of over 11 km. History Category:Articles by User:Holbenilord